Characterism And Symbolism In Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill

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In the short story “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill is of French nationality. In the story, it said “Jardins Publiques” which is french for a public garden. When it says that in the story, it is because the author was describing the sky above the garden that Miss Brill walks to every Sunday; therefore, one can infer that Miss Brill is from France. The short story’s setting is a public garden in France near water. In the story, several aspects of a garden are mentioned, like trees “.. sometimes a tiny staggerer came suddenly rocking into the open from under the trees..”, a band plays “For although the band played all the year round on Sundays, out of season it was never the same”, and she sits on a bench near another

In the beginning of the story, Mansfield wrote “it was so brilliantly fine… with gold and great spots of light like white wine… Oh, how sweet it was to see them snap at her again from the red eiderdown!” to show just how joyful Miss Brill was to be alive that Sunday, and to have her fur with her. The positive words also helped to establish an optimistic atmosphere for Miss Brill with her fur “Never mind - a little dab of black sealing-wax when the time came - when it was absolutely necessary ... Little rogue! Yes, she really felt like that about it… She could have taken it off and laid it on her lap and stroked it.” At the end of the short story, Miss Brill’s mood took a turn for the worst when she listens in on a conversation when young people in her “play” say “‘Why does she come here at all - who wants her?”. After this, Miss Brill goes directly home instead of going to get her usually Sunday treat of “honey-cake” at the baker’s, and goes into her room that was “like a cupboard” and didn’t show the care to her fur “She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside” which is the complete opposite of what she did in the beginning. Miss Brill is definitely not a developing character, because, throughout the story, she stayed surprisingly optimistic until the end, but even then, when she “thought she heard

At the end of the story, when the young couple says “‘Why does she come here at all - who wants her? Why doesn 't she keep her silly old mug at home?’” Miss Brill is absolutely devastated and skips her usual stop at the baker’s that she enjoys so much, and returns to her “cupboard” like room. She sat down for a while before took her fur and she “unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside.” After that event occurred, Miss Brill “thought she heard something crying” because she came to realize that she would never open the lid again after what she